Classic Rock / Long Live Rock 1966 - 1971
1966 - 1969
1. Cream ‘I Feel Free’ From Fresh Cream LP December 1966
2. Buffalo Springfield ‘For What It’s Worth’ From Buffalo Springfield LP December 1966
3. The Youngbloods ‘Get Together’ From The Youngbloods LP March 1967
4. Jimi Hendrix Experience ‘Fire’ From Are You Experienced LP May 1967
5. Pretty Things ‘There Will Never Be Another Day’ From Emotions LP May 1967
6. Vanilla Fudge ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ From Vanilla Fudge LP September 1967
7. Small Faces ‘Tin Soldier’ From There Are But Four LP February 1968
8. Blood, Sweat And Tears ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know’ From Child Is Father To The Man LP February 1968
9. Joe South ‘Hush’ From Single A Side April 1968
10. Moody Blues ‘Ride My See Saw’ From In Search Of The Lost Chord LP July 1968
11. Big Brother & The Holding Company ‘I Need A Man To Love’ From Cheap Thrills LP
September 1968
12. The Nazz ‘Open My Eyes’ From Nazz LP October 1968
13. Bob Seger System ‘Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man’ From Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Man LP January 1969
14. Steppenwolf ‘Jupiters Child’ From At Your Birthday Party LP March 1969
15. Spooky Tooth ‘Waitin’ For The Wind’ From Spooky Two LP March 1969
16. Flying Burrito Brothers ‘Hot Burrito #1’ From The Gilded Palace Of Sin LP March 1969
17. Sir Douglas Quintet ‘At The Crossroads’ From Mendocino LP April 1969
18. Blind Faith ‘Can’t Find My Way Home’ From Blind Faith LP July 1969
19. Delaney & Bonnie ‘Dirty Old Man’ From Accept No Substitute LP July 1969
20. Jack Bruce ‘He The Richmond’ From Songs For A Tailor LP September 1969
21. Joe Cocker ‘Bird On The Wire’ From Joe Cocker LP October 1969
22. Led Zeppelin ‘Heartbreaker’ From Led Zeppelin II LP October 1969
1969 - 1971
1. Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘Fortunate Son’ From Willy & The Poor Boys LP December 1969
2. Humble Pie ‘The Sad Bag Of Shaky Jake’ From Town And Country LP December 1969
3. The Who ‘The Seeker’ From Single A Side February 1970
4. MC5 ‘Shakin’ Street’ From Back In The USA LP February 1970
5. The Doors ‘Peace Frog’ From Morrison Hotel LP March 1970
6. Van Morrison ‘Come Running’ From Moondance LP March 1970
7. James Taylor ’Fire And Rain’ From Sweet Baby James LP March 1970
8. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young ‘Woodstock’ From Déjà Vu LP March 1970
9. The Band ‘Stage Fright’ From Stage Fright LP August 1970
10. Velvet Underground ‘Rock And Roll’ From Loaded LP August 1970
11. Mothers Of Invention ‘Directly From My Heart To You’ From Weasels Ripped My Flesh LP September 1970
12. The Stooges ‘Loose’ From Fun House LP December 1970
13. Derek & The Dominoes ‘Layla’ From Single A Side December 1970
14. The Allman Brothers ‘Midnight Rider’ From Idlewind South LP December 1970
15. Stephen Stills ‘Go Back Home’ From Stephen Stills LP December 1970
16. Spirit ‘Mr Skin’ From The Twelve Dreams Of Dr Sardonicus LP December 1970
17. Leon Russell ‘Alcatraz’ From The Shelter People LP May 1971
18. Yes ‘Your Move’ From Single A Side August 1971
19. Ten Years After ‘I’d Love To Change The World’ From A Space In Time LP August 1971
20. T.Rex ‘The Motivator’ From Electric Warrior LP September 1971
21. The Faces ‘Stay With Me’ From Single A Side November 1971
22. Badfinger ‘Day After Day’ From Straight Up LP December 1971
If you lived through the late sixties or seventies you would never have heard the term classic rock used to describe any music of the day because unlike psychedelia, proggy, glam or even southern rock it was not a term used at the time but one bestowed in retrospect when the era itself had ended. In the early eighties American youth (because classic rock is a wholly American invention) had been ambushed by the new phenomenon’s of MTV, hair metal and British pops exotic bright young things. No longer besotted by the music of their older brothers and sisters or God forbid their parents, there was no room for any hoary old rockers in their lives, and in an age when being pretty was an absolute necessity, no room for any ugly new ones either. Yes kids, MTV really did kill the radio stars and had a damn good go at wiping out the radio stations too. In sheer desperation, as ratings dropped alarmingly, a bright marketing spark conceived the classic rock concept to lure back those middle aged folks content to wallow in the warm, fuzzy glow of their be-denimed youth.
And that should have been that except what no-one predicted was how this clever rebranding of rocks illustrious yet unhip past would attract such a massive new audience and become so highly regarded. Incredibly, in the absence of any peer pressure to identify with any new genre or generation of music, kids turned to the safety net of the past instead of the uncertainty of the future. And they continue to do so over 30 years late, even though most of the bands are either dead and buried or drawing their pensions.
Now forget those holy deities The Beatles or Dylan, the birth of classic rock can be pinpointed exactly to December 1966 and the release of Cream’s debut Fresh Cream. There would be many better records, not least by Cream themselves , yet it remains a landmark long player representing the birth of hard rock and the power trio whilst signalling a move away from the cheap thrill of singles to the long term allure of the album. Over the next 15 years or so the parameters of rock would be stretched as far as they could go, from singer songwriters to cocaine cowboys, from proggy magicians to no nonsense riffola.
While I was walking this earth at the time, and Bowie, the Velvets, Stones and Zeppelin are still my touchstones, there was only the briefest of moments in the mid 70’s when rock in its truest sense crossed my radar. But, records have a weird habit of coming round again years later, when what was once scorned becomes cool and collectable for no apparent reason. So it was decades later when I began to hear some vaguely familiar sounds blasting from my son’s bedrooms and began to wonder if maybe I’d misjudged all those Old Grey Whistle Test bands with their greasy hair, flared jeans and hairy chests. While their horrendous fashions still look horrendous, much to my surprise I found the records, from such a different world to the one I’d inhabited, strangely fascinating . Long Live Rock is the result of all that, my glimpse into a sound from my early teenage I knew little about but one that, in an Almost Famous kind of way, provides me with an alternative soundtrack of that time.
August 2012
